Polenta Torte

Submitted by Olha7397

"This is my favorite. To serve, spoon directly from the soufflé dish or for a spectacular presentation, bake in an 8 inch spring-form pan and unmold. Experiment with a variety of different greens. If frozen kale is unavailable, use all frozen spinach. Serve with grilled or roasted meats, or with a whole grain bread for lunch. A glass of Italian red wine would be a nice addition."

 

• Ready In: 50mins
• Ingredients: 12
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped kale, thawed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1⁄4 lb smoked ham, cut into small cubes
• 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper
• 5 cups water
• 1 1⁄2 cups yellow cornmeal
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄3 cup grated romano cheese or 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 1⁄2 cups shredded Fontina cheese or 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese

directions

1. Squeeze spinach and kale dry. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 3 minutes. Add spinach, kale, ham and pepper; sauté 4 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to hot 400°F Butter 2 ½ quart soufflé dish, or line 8 inch springform pan with heavy duty aluminum foil; butter sides and bottom.
3. Bring 4 cups water to boiling in large saucepan. Stir together remaining 1 cup water, the cornmeal and salt in a bowl. Gradually stir cornmeal mixture into boiling water. Simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
4. Spread 1/3 of polenta in prepared dish. Cover with half the greens, half the Romano and 1/3 of the fontina. Repeat layering one more time. Spread with remaining polenta; sprinkle with remaining fontina.
5. Bake in preheated hot oven 400°F for 30 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. If using springform pan, remove sides. Makes 8 servings.
6. MICROWAVE DIRECTIONS (HIGH POWER OVEN).
7. Combine oil, onion and garlic in microwave safe 2 quart casserole. Microwave, uncovered, at 100% power 3 minutes. Add spinach, kale, ham and pepper. Microwave, uncovered, at 100% power 5 minutes. Transfer vegetable mixture to small bowl.
8. Combine water, cornmeal and salt in microwave safe 2 quart measure. Cover with paper toweling. Microwave at 100% power 7 minutes. Whisk well. Microwave, uncovered, at 100% power 4 minutes. Whisk again. Assemble torte in same 2 quart casserole. Spread 1/3 of polenta in prepared dish. Cover with half the greens, half the Romano and 1/3 of the fontina. Repeat layering one more time. Spread with remaining polenta; sprinkle with remaining fontina. Microwave, uncovered, at 50% power 5 minutes. Let stand, covered, 5 minutes.
9. The Family Circle Cookbook.

Reviews

[Chef Edlear]

This was a beautiful, tasty dish. I followed your suggestion and layered it in a springform pan and then unmolded it to serve. I used chopped swiss chard in place of the spinach and kale. I used the parmesan and fontina options, and left out the ham. I always make my polentas with some milk in addition to the water, I feel it might make it tenderer, so I subbed 1 cup of skim for 1 cup of water. I also added in some chopped garlic and fresh rosemary to the "mush" as it cooked. We enjoyed this two nights in a row, once with a ragu Bolognese sauce, and once just as is, accompanying some gnocchi and marinara. Beautiful to look at, and very tasty, thank you for posting this recipe Olga.